Patrol

New Orleans PD Suspends K-9 Apprehensions

October 11, 2010

The New Orleans Police Department will cease using K-9 dogs to apprehend suspects until additional training can be given to officers, the agency announced in a public statement.

Police Superintendent Ronal W. Serpas made the decision after receiving information from the Department of Justice that the apprehension area of the K-9 Division "showed deficiencies." The agency is now under a broad-ranging federal probe by the DOJ.

The department will continue to use K-9 dogs for narcotic investigations and bomb detection, according to the statement. If an apprehension by K-9 is needed, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office has agreed to provide assistance.

A former police officer—now an elected official with the Missouri House of Representatives—wants to force any city with a population of 5,000 or fewer inhabitants, with an area of less than two square miles, to disband its police department and contract for law enforcement services with either the county police department or a larger neighboring city.